Reason for my six month plateau

Posts: 3,026
6/18/11 10:58 P

I have been truing the suggestions which are most helpful... I got my carbs down to 129 today and still had vegetables and fruits... no grains..I have been shaking it up by not swimming this week... and my appetite is less.. I have walked distance a couple of times.. today I had to take skim milk cheese to go... as I was running late and needed something to keep me away from the fries that would be at this event... I took 2 bottles of water and I am eating more salads mostly spinach and red pepper and cucumber.. I did have split pea soup and wild salmon.. and had enough left over for fruit so I used up my last pineapple before it went bad. Thanks for all the suggestions and help

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6/17/11 11:36 P

Some metabolism experts say that people won't ever get a good handle on their weight loss until they fix their leptin resistance. They also recommend a low carb diet for 6-8 weeks to get leptin sensitive. A higher carb diet should work for people who don't have this problem.

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6/17/11 11:03 P

Try to mix it up. Eating the same foods for a long period of time.. or the same amount of calories day in and day out does not work.

Our bodies are smart.. they become more efficient. Eating 1400 calories after a few months not going to have the same effect (affect?) it had in the beginning. Perhaps one day do 1600.. another day do 1300.. and try NEW FOODS.

You have to confuse your body... which is tough since it is so smart.
Congratulations on your perseverance!!! Keep up the hard work, it will pay off.

Posts: 2,007
6/17/11 10:41 P

The Spark ranges for ~140g carbs was much too high for me. I could only maintain at that level, not lose. I had to drop to 60g carbs, which comes only from mostly veg and a small amount of fruit. No grain, or a very small amount. My target calorie range is ~1400.

Edited by: VHALKYRIE at: 6/17/2011 (22:49)

Posts: 3,026
6/17/11 10:36 P

well I must decrease my carbs too many fruit and vegetables... some days I go several days without bread because there is no place left for grains in calories spent..I was staying in the sparks range and I do crave eating less when I am not swimming as much but my exercise goes up and down.... what keeps me going is knowing how blown up and puffed up I felt 20 pounds heavier which I gained when I quit smoking and also waiting for a knee operation without much activity. I will decrease the carbs and fruit.

Posts: 193
6/17/11 8:47 P

in my eyes,as someone who is just getting started, you are a HERO, sticking with it, even after so long without a loss!!

Posts: 24,616
6/17/11 8:39 P

So if you are opting for about 40% of your calories to come from carbs on 1400-1500 calories...that is about 140-150 grams of carb daily. Which would be about 9-10 servings of carb type foods, when using standard servings sizes like: 1 slice bread, 1/2 cup pasta/rice, 3/4 cup cereal, 1 small piece fruit, 1/2 cup beans, 8 ounces milk,etc. Each serving would have about 15 grams of carbohydate.
Hope this helps
Dietitian Becky

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6/17/11 7:04 P

I was OD'ing on fruit,....I wasn't 'counting' them as carbs. But when you track them here a banana has more carbs than a sandwich...scarey. I cut fruit to about 1 serving/day, grains about 2/day, and i'm still eating more than enough carbs(according to the tracker). I am a carboholic though, and found this transition quite difficult at first, but now I really don't miss my breads at lunch and a tiny carb at supper.

I'm not saying that's the answer, but it was the only way for me to reduce the numbers so i'm at least closer to a 40/30/30 split

Posts: 2,007
6/17/11 6:19 P

I would say swap out some fruit with more veg. Keep a couple of your favorite fruits if you enjoy them, just eat a few less. They could indeed be causing a blood sugar rise and fall, which will effect your energy levels. Try lower GI foods for a while.

Personally, I couldn't kick my 2 year plateau, until I dropped whole grains and starches. I just eat vegetables and a small amount of fruit for carbs. I have no problems with energy for my activities. Experiment with different food combos, and see how you feel.

Edited by: VHALKYRIE at: 6/17/2011 (18:21)

Posts: 24,616
6/17/11 6:12 P

I think dropping down to about 1400-1500 is a good idea with your current exercise plan. Don't drop carbs much lower than the lower end of your SP carb range---it could be affecting your energy level that you discussed. Let me know how it goes.
Becky

Posts: 3,026
6/16/11 6:00 P

Now I have my calorie range 1200 to 1550 but a couple of months ago when exercising 2 hours a day it was around 1700 or 1800 because it was adjusted for exercise... mostly swimming crawl or treading water... then I didn't adjust it for exercise because I wasn't getting results... Mostly always in my range for carbs , fats, and protein... now I am trying more protein and less carbs and less exercise... I don't seem to have the energy for crawl much lately... I also am trying to switch it around and do some walking but swimming is more fun and burns more calories. or so it says..I am having lots of stress with work lately... I have dropped from 1750 down a couple of hundred and am swimming at night more instead of in the morning because I am working more with the longer days... don't know if I should walk tonight or swim..

Posts: 24,616
6/16/11 5:07 P

What is your calorie range?
I see many days in your food tracker of upper 1500's and close to 1800. For a female, age 60---this may honestly be too many calories for weight loss. While 200-300 extra calories may not be enough for weight gain---if this happens most days of the week---it can bring about weight maintenance EASILY.

What do you think??

Dietitian Becky

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6/16/11 3:08 P

Have you adjusted your fitness goals to show not just the minutes but the average calories per week?

I had this problem with not losing weight, too. I then ran a calorie differential report and found I was running an 8000 calories per week deficit. WAY too much. Then I adjusted the fitness calculator and found it raised my intake by about 400 cals per day to get me out of starvation mode.

Hope this makes sense.
Jeff

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6/16/11 3:05 P

I am thinking of writing a dieting manifesto that includes things like....don't ever have a diet that makes you get headaches, don't ever have a diet that makes you sad or grumpy, don't ever have a diet that makes you cry or scream, don't ever have a diet that leaves you unsatisfied or in pain.....

Anyway, I would suggest that with all those fruits that your total carbs might be kind of high. You need to mix it up a little, and my suggestion would be to try the low end of your carb range and high end of your fat range for a while. Keep the veggies, get rid of some of the fruit and maybe grains and add something protein or fat to make up the calories. I know this seems counterintuitive, but it does help many people to just start playing with the extremes of their ranges for a while. Weight loss is supposed to be 80% diet, 20% exercise. You can lose weight with massive exercise, but it just isn't necessary to suffer.

Posts: 101
6/16/11 2:55 P

I wonder if you're not eating enough calories? The body can go into starvation mode if you aren't consuming enough and exercising a lot to hold onto the weight that it has. Try upping your calories for a week and then see what happens? Are you eating enough protein and carbs? I'm eating about 1400 calories a day, 4 small meals. I'm never hungry and the weight is coming off gradually and consistently. Make sure you have a healthy balance, go up on the calories for awhile and then see what happens.

Posts: 3,026
6/16/11 2:26 P

well I exercise or was exercising 90 minutes a day.... eat mostly fruit and vegetables and lean meat... average about 7 or 8 fruit and vegetables each.... day... I am not perfect yesterday I went over my daily amount by 150 in order to have some calcium and was hungry from 140 minutes of exercise... I have been told it is because I eat fruit... too much fructose... So I started counting fruit... I know I eat watermelon... not a lot of calories and goes good after a work out..Well even counting the watermelon it says my fructose is 2 a day.

Before the watermelon I ate grapefruits, cantaloupe sometimes...oranges occasionally in winter... mostly grapefruit... I checked this glycemic index and most of what I am eating is low... broccoli, red peppers, mushrooms, eggs, skinless chicken breast...
I have started water zumba , walking, gardening and swimming and treading water for exercise and aqua fit.. I am in my sixties and have a little less energy than a few months ago.. what I work at is sort of light constrcution... well tired and not losing weight after sticking to it for more than a year... I did lose 20 after quitting smoking but I am just not budging I actually gained...Some days I might be 200 or 300 calories over but not enough to gain several pounds.. help